


Forbes Family Reunion

by venomandchampagne (sushibunny)



Series: However Long It Takes [3]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Caroline is a Tease, Domestic Klaroline, Drabble Collection, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Pouting Klaus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4405418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushibunny/pseuds/venomandchampagne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus is none too thrilled to be heading to Caroline's family reunion. Fortunately, Caroline is well aware of the best way to persuade her hybrid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Packing

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble was written as a response to a prompt on my tumblr: Established KC. Caroline takes Klaus to a Forbes family reunion.
> 
> Originally posted on November 15th 2013.

"If you don't stop whining it's going to take twice as long."

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "I do  _not_  whine," he responded, in a normal, completely unwhiney tone, mind you.

Caroline rolled her eyes as she continued to pack the suitcase. "Oh no, of course you don't. The past three hours have been filled with nothing but positivity and helpfulness from your end," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

It wasn't like she had sprung this trip on him last minute. Oh no, not Caroline Forbes, planner extraordinaire. He had known about, and agreed to attend, by the way, this family reunion for months. Now, the manner in which she had convinced him to say yes may not exactly have been fair; she seemed to recall a serious lack of clothing being involved, but that was neither here nor there. He had agreed and that was that as far as she was concerned.

And it wasn't as if she was trying to get him to attend his own family reunion; he wouldn't be the only one needing convincing if that were the case. No, this was just a simple, human, Forbes Family Reunion. It only happened once every 15 years for whatever reason. She had been 9 the last time, stuck between two very unhappy parents pretending everything was okay. This time she wanted to make the most of it. It would be the last one she could attend before her appearance and age were too far apart to be believable and she wanted to indulge in her prior human life one more time. She wouldn't tell anyone that part of the reason she wanted to go was to show off her drop-dead, no pun intended, gorgeous boyfriend (or whatever Klaus was to her). And he had, albeit reluctantly, said 'yes' to this weekend. Yet here he was, acting like a petulant child at the very idea of even packing.

She heard a low growl from behind her but paid it no mind. Caroline was used to his tantrums at this point. Four years together had left her accustomed to Klaus' moods and the accompanying theatrics. That didn't mean she always enjoyed them, however.

"Careful, love, you're lucky I agreed to go along with this ridiculous endeavor in the first place." Klaus continued to stand against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, where he had been for the better part of the last hour. His body language clearly showed how distasteful he found the current situation.

"Yeah, lucky is  _definitely_  the word I would choose to describe how I'm feeling right now," Caroline said under her breath, not caring that he could still hear her with his supernatural hearing, rolling her eyes once again. She idly wondered if one could pull a muscle doing that too many times. Well, if it was possible she would surely find out before the end of the day.

She finally turned around to face the obstinate hybrid, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her hip to the left, mimicking his irritated posture. "Look, you promised me you would come with me. I never expected you to be overjoyed with the concept, but this pouting has got to stop."

"I do not  _pout_  either," Klaus insisted, his bottom lip sticking suspiciously slightly further out than usual. At her raised eyebrows he sighed. "Forgive me, sweetheart, I know how much this means to you. I'm just not used to such… mundane activities."

Caroline smiled and dropped her arms to her sides. "I know, and I really do appreciate you coming with me. You know I wouldn't ask you to come if it wasn't important to me. And my mom."

Klaus watched as she crossed the room towards him, slightly wary of the unpredictable blonde. "Yes, well, I still don't quite understand why your mother is even attending in the first place. She's no longer part of that side of your family, technically." He made sure to skirt around the topic of her father as much as possible as he knew how much the subject still pained her.

"True," Caroline said as she stopped in front of Klaus, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. "But I suppose fear of the wrath of the evil-mother-in-law remains even after divorce."

Klaus smiled as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. "Well I guess you're fortunate in that you'll never have to experience such a thing."

Caroline tried to hide her blush as she leaned her forehead down onto his shoulder, smiling. She could never tell if he said these sorts of things as a joke to mock her propensity for human traditions or if he was being serious. Either way, she would never admit how happy it made her to hear him say such things. Trying to disguise her movement, as if she could fool him anymore, he knew her so well, she turned to kiss the side of his neck. "Yeah, I can only imagine having an actual evil witch as an in-law."

Klaus smiled, squeezing her gently. If anyone else had made a joke about his mother they would have been in pieces across the room. But not Caroline. He knew she accepted and understood him, all of him, and would never mock him with something she knew was a sensitive subject for him. She was one of the only people he could trust not to use her knowledge of him to hurt him, so he knew she was only teasing him good naturedly in return. Klaus' smile turned into a smirk as he felt her lips grace his neck a second time. "Don't start something you can't finish, love." he said, his tone lower than usual.

Caroline felt her blush intensify, for entirely different reasons this time. She pulled away from Klaus' neck reluctantly. "Sorry," she said a bit sheepishly. "We really do need to finish packing so we can head out to Mystic Falls soon. Maybe you could help me now that you've finished pouting," she smirked up at him cheekily.

He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he chuckled at her audacity. Yet another thing only Caroline could get away with in his presence. "I told you before, love, I do not pout."

She gave him one of her million-watt smiles. "Well, you'd better help me finish packing or I'll give you something to pout about if you make us miss our flight!" Caroline said slyly as she wriggled her way out of his grip and walked back over to the previously abandoned suitcase.

Klaus frowned at both the cryptic promise and the loss of her from his arms. "And what do you mean by that?" he questioned.

Caroline turned to him with an all too innocent look. "I mean, if you don't start helping right now, I'm not going to pack anything from the bottom drawer of my dresser."

Klaus' eyes flicked over to the aforementioned dresser and focused on the lowermost drawer. It was half open and its contents were haphazardly hanging out, strewn over the lip of the drawer. He noticed his favorite red lacey teddy on top of the pile and licked his lips as his mind wandered back to the last time she had worn it. His mouth went dry at the memory.

Caroline raised an eyebrow and smirked at the look on his face. "Perhaps I shouldn't bother with that drawer," she said as she gestured with her hands. "I mean, you don't seem that interested in packing-"

Before she could finish, Klaus had flashed in front of her, his darkened eyes piercing hers. "Do not tease me so, Caroline." he said huskily.

Caroline shivered from the intensity of his gaze. She felt like she would never get used to the way he looked at her, and she reveled in it. She gathered herself before answering, trying to regain her teasing tone. "You love it," she smiled playfully, scrunching up her nose.

"I love  _you_." he said, his gaze never wavering from hers.

Caroline's face softened and this time her smile was one of pure happiness. "I love you too, Klaus," and she leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips. Predictably, he reached out to wrap his arms around her as he started to deepen the kiss, but Caroline knew him too well and dodged out of his reach as she pulled back. She skipped away from him, turning to give him another brilliant smile before heading into the en suite bathroom. "But we still have to pack! Maybe if you're good this weekend…" she trailed off, knowing she was playing with fire.

Klaus took several deep breaths as he watched her disappear from view, trying to calm down and resign himself to his fate of packing. He looked sullenly at the second smaller suitcase on the floor before heading into the closet to gather his clothes.

"Oh, and don't forget we're stopping to visit your sister on the way back!" Caroline called from the bathroom, grinning as she heard the answering groan.

 


	2. Nik

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted November 15th 2013.

It was Caroline's turn to groan after the fifth or so great aunt or third cousin or whatnot had pinched her cheeks and commented on how skinny and pale she was before moving on to torment another unsuspecting young person. She had to keep reminding herself that she had wanted to come to this reunion, that she was there to support her mother, that she couldn't leave yet, no matter how much she found herself wishing she could. And Klaus was certainly not helping the matter.

Where all her older relatives had nothing but critiques for her, for Klaus they were full of compliments. How handsome he was, how lucky she was to have snagged him, how charming his accent was, how adorable his dimples were, how frisky he must be in the sack; yes, thank you so much, Aunt Mildred, she would never hear the end of that one from him.

She looked over at the aforementioned hybrid who was currently regaling a half dozen of her middle-aged female relatives with some apparently engrossing tale, most likely something from the backstory they had cooked up for him on the plane ride. Mild mannered, British import, freelance artist Nik, who she had met in college at a seminar on Venomous Animal Bites. He had rolled his eyes while she laughed as she told him his new life story. "What?" she had asked when he shook his head at her. "The best lies are rooted in truth." And she had grinned so wide he couldn't help but smile back.

As she watched him talk to his rapt audience she managed to catch his eye. Or rather, he managed to catch hers. She smiled as she recognized the plea for help in his features, so subtle that she was only one of a handful of people who would be able to spot it. She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head, amused that the Almighty Original Hybrid needed help escaping the clutches of a bunch of besotted women. On second thought, it was probably best that he sought her help instead of extricating himself from an unwanted situation in his usual, violent fashion. This thought caused her to increase her pace as she walked over to him, fake charming smile plastered on her face.

"Nik, sweetie, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need your help over at the drink table. I can't remember which wine we prefer, could you help me out please?" She smiled apologetically at the ladies circled around Klaus, hoping her excuse would prove enough to allow him escape.

Klaus looked slightly more relieved at her presence than she expected. "Of course, sweetheart. Ladies, if you would excuse me." he said as he gave a slight bow towards the group, causing several of them to fan themselves as he departed with Caroline on his arm.

Caroline rolled her eyes at his actions before she snickered. "You're only encouraging them more by pulling out all that 'gentlemanly' stuff,  _Nik_." she said as she steered him over to the drinks.

Klaus smirked down at her. "I can't help it if my natural charm attracts Forbes women. It worked on you didn't it? It must be genetic." His smirk widened as she rolled her eyes again. "By the way, love," he said, his smirk turning into a soft smile. "I do rather enjoy it when you call me that."

Caroline looked at him, slightly confused. "Call you what?" She thought back on their conversation and tried to recall if she had used a new pet name or something, but she couldn't recall anything.  _Oh wait._  "What, you mean when I call you  _Nik_?"

Klaus stopped walking and pulled her against him, their chests touching. "Yes, that. No one outside my family calls me that," he said gazing into her eyes, an odd expression on his face. "I enjoy hearing it come from your lips. It sounds… right."

Caroline felt herself blushing; she felt like she was doing that around Klaus a lot lately. "Oh. Well, if you like it, I suppose I could be persuaded to use it more often," she said, giving him a small smile as she tried to squash the butterflies running rampant in her stomach. How he could make her feel like this even after a few years she didn't know. And she secretly hoped he would never stop.

Klaus leaned in and gave her a soft, yet meaningful kiss. "I would enjoy that, Caroline." he said quietly as he gently pulled away.

Caroline remained with her eyes closed for a moment longer, relishing in the warmth that spread through her body at his words. She liked it just as much when he used her name, she realized. She smiled brightly as she opened her eyes. The two stood staring at each other for another moment, saying nothing, yet speaking volumes with their eyes, before Caroline took a hold of his hand and they continued their journey to the drink table.

* * *

The rest of the reunion continued without incident. Caroline finally decided it was time to leave after she lost count of how many hints about a wedding in her future she had received from her relatives. She loved Klaus, very much, but she couldn't really picture marrying him. Not that she wouldn't want to. Hell, she would jump at the chance. It was just that the idea of two immortal beings, one already 1000 years old, following the very human tradition of marriage seemed a bit absurd. Especially for Klaus.

Klaus seemed almost reluctant to leave the festivities, which struck her as odd. At least until she asked him about it, that is.

"As much as I appreciate your positive relationship with your mother, I am not so fond of spending another night in her house. I still do not understand why you would rather not stay in a hotel." he told her as they left.

Caroline smiled up at him and laughed. "You know I don't get to visit that often, what with all your constant schemes for world domination," she said as she ignored his eye roll and continued, "So I like to spend as much time with her as I can when I do get to come back to Mystic Falls. And it's not that bad. It's not like she makes us sleep in separate rooms or anything."

Klaus sighed heavily, shaking his head at the very thought of a mere human woman dictating the sleeping habits of the Originals Hybrid.

"You know," she said, looking up at him from underneath her long lashes as they walked towards the car, "My mom won't be leaving for another hour or so, Aunt Mary has her wrapped up in some scrapbooking project at the moment. So we would have the house to ourselves," she said suggestively.

Caroline barely had a chance to gasp before he scooped her up into his arms with a growl and flashed them back to her mother's house, forgoing the car. She decided she would wait until later to berate him; probably much later if the look in his eyes was any indication.

* * *

After brunch with her mother the next morning, Caroline and Klaus said their goodbyes to the sheriff, Caroline's taking significantly longer than Klaus' tight smile and nod in response to Liz's thinly veiled glare and crossed arms. The trip to the airport was uneventful, both happy to ride in comfortable silence, Caroline dozing a bit. She waited until they were seated on the plane before she turned to Klaus, breaking the lull in conversation.

"I wanted to thank you again for coming with me this weekend. It really meant a lot to me." she said, smiling warmly at him as she reached for his hand.

Klaus returned her smile, squeezing her hand. "Of course, love. You know I would do anything for you."

She did. He had proven it to her a thousand times over by now, yet it continued to amaze her how much he was willing to do for her, silly little Caroline Forbes. She wasn't sure if she would ever truly understand what he saw in her that made him think she was worth all that. Perhaps it was similar to what she saw in him that made her able to look passed all the terrible things he had done. They truly were a perfect pair.

Caroline's expression softened at his words before a smirk slowly spread its way across her lips. "Oh, I do know. Which is why we're on our way to visit your sister right now."

Klaus groaned loudly, tossing his head back against the headrest. He knew he should have paid more attention as they made their way through the airport.

She chuckled at him. He had put up less of a fuss about going to her family reunion than he did whenever they were off to visit one of his siblings. "Don't you start pouting again," she said, laughing at his scowl. "If you're nice to Rebekah while we visit I promise to reward you when we get home."

Klaus looked over at her skeptically. "And what did you have in mind?"

"Mmm I dunno, maybe I'll let you paint me in something… red," she said slyly, surreptitiously toying with a red, lacy strap on her shoulder, pulling it out from underneath her sleeveless sundress.

It only took Klaus a moment to identify the article of clothing she was teasing him with. It was the same one he had been eyeing in her lingerie drawer as they were packing for the trip. His eyes darkened as he stared intensely into her eyes. "Don't tease me, Caroline."

She gave him a self-satisfied smirk before letting go of the strap and readjusting her dress. "You know I always keep my promises,  _Nik_."

Klaus groaned before pulling her in for a kiss that was a little less than appropriate for public.

Caroline giggled as she pulled back, pecking him once more on the lips before settling back in her seat. "I take it you agree to my terms?"

"We have a deal," he smirked, giving her the distinct impression that she had just made a deal with the devil himself. And she was not at all shocked to find that she didn't mind in the least.


End file.
